Kit was damp when I left the house at 8:30, but by the time I arrived at the Lutheran Chapel, the sun was streaming through the trees. Spring has sprung. And the daffodils are out, really out! W hat a difference a week or so can make. And in addition to the daffodils, the camellias that are in bloom. I am in heaven.

And the robins are chirping.

And these are where my mind wandered …

Dignity of Difference:
Dignity: So where do we see the word dignity? She lived her life with dignity.

What does dignity mean?
Difference: what are we talking about in order to understand different don’t we have to understand what we have in common. Some interesting thoughts.

As I look around I think about the quote my father always said: the only things we know for sure are death and taxes.

And this from Lauren Artress …

The labyrinth in modern times is not just a spiritual practice for one to find their center with God, but it is also used as a space to bring people together across cultural, religious, ethnic and racial lines.

That chimes are not ringing today, but the birds are happy.

I sat at the center today for the first time in a long time. The bricks are cold so I did not sit for long. But it makes me think we need to get people to share space together, if only for 20 minutes. If not, how can we expect to show dignity for the differences if we do not have a space both physical and temporal where we can come together.

And now I walk out.

As I walk out, I hear the sound of the train in the distance and it slow whaling horn. It’s funny, that is actually a happy memory sound to me. I grew up in an urban neighborhood in Atlanta which was bordered by train tracks on two sides. I would love to hear that sound in the night as I was falling asleep. And then I lived in Wilmette Illinois, not too far from the commuter rail lines going in and out of Chicago. Those train stuff at about 12:30 AM and began again at 5:40 AM. I often remember hearing that laugh sound and even more often the one in the morning, the reason I remember the morning, because my husband and four years of living in Chicago only miss that train that first train five times. I thankfully could rollover and go back to sleep.

Lots of thoughts from a discussion of the new school tomorrow.…

And after a perfect walk, I ventured over to Matthews NC. At the farmers market, I bought chocolate hazlenut goat cheese and dill goat cheese. And then I ventured into Renfrow Hardware. I bought lettuces and asparagus for the garden. The rooster is Better Boy and the beautiful beasts … Remington Steel and Zoe.

And then I circle back to some other ideas …

There would be a series of regular encounters by bringing sacrifices, though the Hebrew word korban is better translated “coming close by bringing close.” The entire system of korbanot and all that went with them was a response to the crisis of the distance of God. That is the story behind the story of Vayikra [Jewish name for Leviticus].

Heather is reading Sack’s new book on Leviticus and shared this from the book……

“(Ex. 20:19). When they made the calf, wrongheaded though they were, they were seeking a way of encountering God without terror. They need You to be close.”

What Moses was exploring… were the fundamental parameters of the relationship between God and humanity. The God of Abraham was transcendent. Could He also be imminent? Could He relate to humans not only from heaven or the mountaintop, but down in the valley in the midst of the camp? Can an infinite God be close to finite human beings? If not, what hope is there for humanity?

The people could not see God’s “ face” or understand his “ ways,” but they could experience his “ glory.” It was this phenomenon, cloud-like yet radiant, that would dwell in the Sanctuary, the symbolic home of God. There would be a series of regular encounters by bringing sacrifices, though the Hebrew word korban is better translated “coming close by bringing close.” The entire system of korbanot and all that went with them was a response to the crisis of the distance of God. That is the story behind the story of Vayikra [Jewish name for Leviticus].

“Coming close by being close! Wow! What a great sentence to ponder in our Sabbath study”, says Heather.

* The continuing drama in the Hebrew Bible is of God’s attention and human inattention. God is there but we forget that He is there … Every day is an encounter with the Divine

…

Life is so full of surprises from God.

I thought the picture was perfect and the meditation below certainly speaks to what we are discussing. (and the scripture) It brings me a sense of completeness when we are studying something and several random sources are on the same wavelength confirming my path or thoughts. God lights up the wakway! Light to Dark to Light to conversations with God and the Psalms and now the Sabbath. How can what we learned about Sabbath enhance our Lenten spiritual quest?

Shalom!

Carol

…

Subject: Daily Meditation: A Still Place in the Market

A Still Place in the Market

“Be still and acknowledge that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). These are words to take with us in our busy lives. We may think about stillness in contrast to our noisy world. But perhaps we can go further and keep an inner stillness even while we carry on business, teach, work in construction, make music, or organise meetings.

It is important to keep a still place in the “marketplace.” This still place is where God can dwell and speak to us. It also is the place from where we can speak in a healing way to all the people we meet in our busy days. Without that still space we start spinning. We become driven people, running all over the place without much direction. But with that stillness God can be our gentle guide in everything we think, say, or do.

And since my last walk here, i did some research on the morning star installed at the center …

What Is the Morning Star?

BY WAYNE JACKSON

“Please explain this passage: ‘I will give him the morning star’ (Revelation 2:28). What is the ‘morning star’?”

This passage embraces one of the seven promises from Christ to those who “overcome” (the trials and temptations of life), and thus remain loyal to him to the end (see: 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21). To the church at Thyatira, the Lord Jesus therefore says (regarding the one who overcomes): “I will give him the morning star.”

Christ Himself

Some scholars consider the reference to be to Christ himself. Professor Andrew Hill has written: “Jesus Christ is described as the ‘morning star’ in 2 Peter 1:19 (phosphoros) and in Revelation 2:28 (aster proinos), and He identifies Himself as ‘the bright morning star’ (ho aster ho lampros ho proninos) in Revelation 22:16” (413). He goes on to point out that this “star” symbolism reflects the Old Testament and inter-testament emphasis on the “celestial” nature of the coming Messiah (cf. Numbers 24:17; Malachi 4:2).

William Barclay suggested several ideas. He thought the expression could signify the coming resurrection of the righteous. Just as the “morning star” breaks forth from the darkness of night, so the Lord’s people will break out of the darkness of the grave (1957, 67). Later, however, he came to a different conclusion. He was “quite certain” that the “correct interpretation” is this. The “morning star” is Christ himself. “If the Christian is true, when life comes to an end he will possess Christ, never to lose him again” (1959, 140).

For if we take the imagery of Scripture seriously, if we believe that God will one day give us the Morning Star and cause us to put on the splendor of the sun, then we may surmise that both the ancient myths and the modern poetry, so false as history, may be very near the truth as prophecy.

Behind the cemetery of the historic Morning Star Lutheran Chapel at 12900 Idlewild Road is a new legacy labyrinth, built to honor the memory of Shannon Christine Kennedy, who died in 2011 at age 36 after an extended illness.

The site is a special place of unexpected peace and solitude, tucked away near the busy intersection of Idlewild and Matthews-Mint Hill roads.

Kennedy’s mother, Marlene Perrotta, spearheaded the project as a way to remember her daughter and bring peace, beauty and enrichment to congregation and community members who choose to walk its calming path.

“Shannon was a daughter of faith. The labyrinth fit naturally with her journey,” Perrotta said.

Perrotta said The Morning Star Chapel labyrinth is patterned after the 14th-century labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral in France. It is 38 feet in diameter and holds 11 walking circles separated by dividers, with many turns along the way.

In the center is the Morning Star symbol, an element carefully chosen for its inclusive nature.

“A lot of labyrinths have Bible verse in the middle, but we didn’t want to sway people’s thoughts. It’s a sacred tool that enriches your life with communion with yourself and God or whoever is the higher power in your life,” Perrotta said.

Local brick mason Bill Stublaski carefully laid the labyrinth’s 9,400 pavers over a period of several months. The project was especially meaningful to him, as Kennedy was the birth-mother of his daughter, Angelica.

Perrotta said there are about 15 labyrinths in the Charlotte area but that this is the only one near Matthews and Mint Hill.

Morning Star Lutheran Pastor John Mouritsen said he hopes the community will discover the labyrinth and that it will become a place of comfort.

“It’s a place of peace in the midst of a very busy world,” Mouritsen said. “It is open to anyone who wants to walk it, and we are hoping to make it available for groups as well. We would like to welcome support groups of all sorts, and we’re looking to connect with the veteran community and neighbors of all faiths from all over the area.”

The labyrinth is accessible through the cemetery gate, and Mouritsen said folks are welcome there any time.

Perrotta said that once you’ve walked a labyrinth, you’re apt to return. “There’s no right or wrong way to walk it. It can be very spiritual or just relaxing and meditative,” Perrotta said. “You don’t feel the same way every time you walk it. It all depends on where you are in your journey.”

Kids These Days: Growing Up Too Fast Or Never At All? : NPR: As I have said before, I had an idyllic childhood in Brookwood Hills Atlanta. I heard this on NPR. I too wonder if we don’t fantasize how much better it was when we were children?

On the cover of the April issue of The Atlantic there’s a picture of a boy who could be 6 or 7. He’s looking to the right toward an adult, whose hand he’s holding. He’s also wearing a helmet and knee pads. And — for further protection — he has a pillow strapped to his torso.

Hanna Rosin says when kids do things that feel risky on a playground, it allows them to conquer a fear and gain independence.

In an interview with All Things Considered, Rosin tells host Robert Siegel that she had long wondered why statistics show that today’s parents both work more and spend more time with their children than previous generations. She says it has to do with the lack of independence people allow their children these days.

“What’s happened now is we’ve swung way too far in the other direction such that we’ve become preoccupied with safety, and that’s really having an effect on the culture of childhood so that we’re stripping children of their independence, of their ability to take risks, which are key to a happy childhood,” she says.

Son Of God Movie, “Diogo Morgado Puts the Carnal in Incarnate But Was Jesus Really A Babe?” The Daily Beast: Speaking of Jesus … With my mom — watching Son Of God at CineBistro at Town Brookhaven. I found no time to consider whether the actor was a “babe.” Both my mother and I were overwhelmed by the gruesome aspects of the film. We realize that death by crucifixion is by its nature gruesome.

Son of God is in theaters now! This major motion picture event brings the story of Jesus’ life to audiences of all kinds through compelling …

Dog, $1.9 Million, News from the Field | OutsideOnline.com, conspicuous consumption, Tibetan mastiffs: Wow! Many years ago we had a Saint Bernard. A friend quipped that we should have named him Thorstein. I’ll let you figure that one out.

In what might be the most expensive dog sale ever, a property developer paid 12 million yuan—or $1.9 million—for a Tibetan mastiff puppy on Wednesday.

He acquired the one-year-old golden-haired mastiff at a “luxury pet” fair Tuesday in China’s eastern province of Zhejiang, according to the Qianjiang Evening News.

“They have lion’s blood and are top-of-the-range mastiff studs,” the dog’s breeder, Zhang Gengyun, told the paper. Another of his red-haired pups sold for six million yuan, he added.

Tibetan mastiffs, which are enormous and sometimes ferocious, bear a passing resemblance to lions—if you squint. They’re now a prized status symbol among China’s elite, causing prices to skyrocket.

Elizabeth Kiss, Rhodes Scholars: Great day to be a Wildcat! Check out #13 …

13. Elizabeth Kiss is an American academic and educator. She is the eighth president of Agnes Scott College, a liberal arts college for women in Atlanta, Georgia. Previously, she was the Nannerl E. Keohane Director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. She specialises in moral and political philosophy and has published on a number of topics, including moral judgement and education, human rights, ethnic conflict and nationalism, and feminist debates about rights and justice. As a Rhodes Scholar, she studied for a BPhil and DPhil in Philosophy.

Watch the video above to see the first Basset Hound “magic trick” you’ve probably ever seen. Just when you think it isn’t possible for any more dogs to appear, another one comes running out of that teeny, tiny, little dog house.

New Yorker cartoon, Paul Noth, Jackson Pollock, kith/kin: Another one today that reminded me of my son. Jack taught me taught me to appreciate Pollock and with whom i love to enjoy sushi. I realize that there is a difference between “appreciating ” Pollock and “liking” Pollock. Jack did his high school “senior exit project” on Pollock. I learned so much and learned to “appreciate” Pollock.

death and taxes: Very long and very interesting article on our digital afterlife.

But many of us, in these worst of circumstances, would also leave behind things that exist outside of those familiar categories. Suppose you blogged or tweeted about this article, or dashed off a Facebook status update, or uploaded a few snapshots from your iPhone to Flickr, and then logged off this mortal coil. It’s now taken for granted that the things we do online are reflections of who we are or announcements of who we wish to be. So what happens to this version of you that you’ve built with bits? Who will have access to which parts of it, and for how long?

Not many people have given serious thought to these questions. Maybe that’s partly because what we do online still feels somehow novel and ephemeral, although it really shouldn’t anymore. Or maybe it’s because pondering mortality is simply a downer. (Only about a third of Americans even have a will.) By and large, the major companies that enable our Web-articulated selves have vague policies about the fate of our digital afterlives, or no policies at all. Estate law has only begun to consider the topic. Leading thinkers on technology and culture are understandably far more focused on exciting potential futures, not on the most grim of inevitabilities.